3B - February 1, 2010
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
3B - February 1, 2010 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
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Daily Sports Writer "Brandon Fellows winning the
mile was the best performance
o knew that such a seem- for our program this weekend,"
imple question could be so LaPlante said.
cated. Although Fellows was the only
en asked what he thought Michigan competitor to win an
eam's overall performance event, there were others who
ast weekend at the Rod experienced success as well.
vy Memorial in Lexington, Junior co-captain Carl Bucha-
ach Fred LaPlante couldn't non, who has primarily been a
ind the words to describe hurdler, finished third in the 60
chigan men's track team. meter hurdles with a time of 8.12.
l1, that's a tough question He also tallied a surprising fifth-
wer as far as these types place finish inthe 400-meter dash
ts," LaPlante said. "We've - an event that Buchanon had
guys competing, obviously never run until this past weekend.
h of different events, some There were also some encour-
ire at different points in aging performances from the
raining, and so forth and underclassmen, something that
It's kind of hard to say it will prove to be important for
Michigan if they hope to compete
in the Big Ten.
After a 2009 team that was
Our guys in loaded with seniors, 30 of the 54
eneral don't athletes listed on the Wolverines'
current roster are redshirt sopho-
ar thetough mores or younger. Needless to say,
Michigan will have to rely on its
)m petition." underclassmen for much of the
season.
On Saturday, freshman Dal-
las Bowden finished fifth in
ns of sort of a team evalu- what LaPlante called Bowden's
"first serious mile" with a time of
goes the first few weeks 4:08.83.
indoor season. With so Redshirt freshman Bobby
individual competitors Aprill also finished fifth in the
ents, it is hard to pinpoint 3,000 meter run with a career-
where the 38th-ranked best time of 8:15.66.
ines stand. Amidst all the uncertainty of
after competing in a field the early weeks of the season, it is
with high-quality com- clear that the future looks bright
n from schools such as for the Wolverines. But it is going
Florida State, Cincinnati, to take a lot of work to get this
ky and Georgia Tech, it is team where it needs to be.
sat the Wolverines have the "If they're going to perform
al for success. well, it takes more than just train-
r guys in general don't fear ing hard," LaPlante said. "You
igh competition," LaPlante really have to have a passion to
think they really like the compete. Sometimes it happens
ompetition." that you find out your passion
g distance runner Brian when you kind of get your teeth
s, who led the Wolverines knocked in a couple times. Hope-
first place finish in the mile fully some of those guys will find
ossing the finish line with the passion, and that will be a
r-best time of 4:06.37, was good thing."
wz
TOREHAN SHARMAN/Daily
Junior Manny Harris helped force Hawkeye turnovers with smothering defense and anticipation of Iowa passes. The Wovlerines forced seven turnovers in11 minutes Saturday.
Turnovers key too Woverines' win
By GJON JUNCAJ And with three days off to pre-
Daily SportsEditor pare for a talented and potentially
dangerous three-point shooting
Positives. team (Iowa leads the conference
It's something the Michigan with 545 triples attempted), the
men's basketball team has been Wolverines knew exactly what was
searching for throughout this dis- in store for them.
appointing season. Oftentimes, "We knew their sets (and) knew
those attempts at optimism have what was going to happen," soph-
seemed difficult to muster. omore guard Stu Douglass said.
The Wolverines reached the two- "(Iowa) has good players, but we
thirds mark of the really just gave it our all."
year with a .500 NOTEBOOK Michigan has forced more than
record, and a lit- 17 turnovers in three of its past six
any of on-court issues still haven't games. Iowa finished Saturday with
been resolved since November. just 10, but the game was blown
Yet Saturday's 60-46 victory over open right from tipoff.
an overwhelmed Iowa team showed "We were just communicating
that the Wolverines are getting tan- really well," sophomore forward
gibly better as the season wears on Zack Novak said. "We got pressure
- with the ultimate risk-reward on them and really didn't give them
aspect of the game. anything easy. Force them to make
Michigan forced seven turnovers plays, and you'll have some turn-
in the first 11 minutes of Saturday's overs."
game, leading to eight points in SON, DON'T SHINE: The Maize
what opened up a 19-5 run to start Rage directed all its vitriol and
the contest. Active hands and quick sarcasm on Saturday toward Iowa
defensive rotations frazzled the point guard John Lickliter, son of
Hawkeyes, knocking them into a Hawkeye coach Todd Lickliter. At
hole too deep to climb out of 5-foot-11, 170-pounds, the younger
Despite sloppy finish,
Blue beats Iowa easily
From
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But
Page 1B to just 13 with 14:44 remaining,
Michigan got its act together.
ed him with seven points. Sims got whatever he wanted
oth the end of the first half inside, including nine offensive
e beginning of the second rebounds and 20 points for the
.e Wolverines fell into the game. Harris also turned it on,
scoring 13 of his own 20 points in
the second half.
The lead in the second half was
as much as 24, but the Wolverines
egot again seemed to lose their focus at
he game g t the end, when they let Iowa pull to
ut of hand," within 16 with three minutes left.
Though Beilein was happy
3eilein said. with the big win, he would have
preferred to avoid the sloppy play
that plagued his team throughout
the game.
"I think they felt the game was
in trap of playing down to out of hand," Beilein said. "And
evel of competition. Play that's natural when you're up
s was sloppy, with players that much. I would have liked to
g to treat the matchup as a get everybody off the bench, but
d pickup game. 14-point, 16-point lead with three
after seeing the lead fall minutes to go is not safe."
SPARTANS
From Page lB
Those words translated into
action Saturday night at Joe Louis
Arena. The Wolverines won 5-4 in
a game that had more momentum
changes than a tetherball match.
The Wolverines fell behind 3-0
and never recovered Friday. On
Saturday, Summers made sure that
didn't happen again.
Taking his postgame comments
and converting them to the ice, he
got the offense started early. Mid-
way through the first period, in a
4-on-4, Summers picked up the
puck behind his own net, skated
around one Spartan in the neutral
zone, and then split through the
defensemen putting a backhand on
Michigan State's Drew Palmisano.
Summers' initial shot was stopped,
but the rebound came to freshman
A.J. Treais who put the puck into
the wide open net.
Just seven minutes later, Sum-
mers received a pass and let go
of a slap shot that bounced off a
Michigan State defensemen and
squeaked past Palmisano. By the
end of the first period, the captain
had sparked a 3-0 lead.
"Coach (Red Berenson) talked
about maybe being a better leader,"
Summers said Saturday. "He kind
of called everybody out last night,
me in particular. He knew that I
needed to step my game up and I
Lickliter looked out of place, trying
to take Stu Douglass off the dribble
and attempting a wild 3-point shot
over senior forward DeShawn Sims
in the first half.
The redshirt freshman walk-on
played 24 minutes Saturday under
tight defensive pressure and a slew
of jeers from the student section
throughout that span of time.
Lickliter was treated with the
customary "BUM!" chorus with
every touch of the ball. Each of his
six missed shots and one turnover
was complemented with new, cre-
ative insults.
At least one person not on Iowa's
sideline took offense to it - Michi-
gan coach John Beilein. His son
Patrick (currently a graduate stu-
dent manager with the Wolverines)
played for him at West Virginia
from 2002-2006, and received more
than a fair share of grief for the
family connection on the Moun-
taineers' bench.
"It started to get me mad at a
few fans yelling at the coach's son,"
Beilein said with a slight smirk.
"I've heard that many times. One
tried to do that today but it's a team
effort. 'm not going to get those
assists or goals without anybody
else."
Michigan's 3-0 lead turned into a
4-3 deficit in just over a period. But
after a shorthanded goal to tie the
game, Brown took the superhero
cape from Summers. Stationed in
front, he took two shots and picked
up the puck on the side of the net
and stuffed it between the post and
Palmisano's skate. This time, the
referee held the whistle as Brown
jammed it home.
"We came to the rink ready to
play," Berenson said. "We had a
big edge in the game on the score-
board and then we lost it, so there
was no use crying about it. We just
KARTJE
From Page 1B
whistle too early and single-
handedly knocked the wind out
of every single Michigan fan.
The Big Ten Network knew it
was a goal. The majority of the
media at Munn Ice Arena knew
it was a goal. And for God's sake,
when people named "Spartan
Dan" comment on Michigan
message boards apologizing for
the call to angry Wolverine fans,
that's when you know it indeed
was a goal.
Yes, it was just one loss. And
yes, Michigan was outplayed for
much of the game. But with a
tie game and the momentum of
a three-goal comeback on their
shoulders, my gut says nothing is
stopping the Wolverines' in that
hypothetical overtime period.
But with one blow of the whis-
tle, Shegos took away the Wol-
verines' only chance at rivalry
heroism this season.
Michigan had been embar-
rassed by the Spartans in their
first series of the year, getting
swept after winning all five
games against its rivals the year
of the funniest was at Notre Dame
when they called Patrick, 'Daddy's
girl.' That really upset me. I'm used
to that. But (Lickliter) goes out and
plays hard, and you know he's play-
ing every day for his dad, just like
my son did."
NOTES: Beyond the mediocre
overall records, Saturday's game
pitted the two youngest teams in
the Big Ten against each other.
Michigan features 11 players on
the roster that are redshirt sopho-
mores or younger. Iowa has such
nine players of its own.... The Wol-
verines' win over the Hawkeyes on
Saturday marked the program's
700th Big Ten victory. ... Michi-
gan is the fifth conference team to
reach the plateau. ... Harris pulled
down his 500th career rebound
in Saturday's first half, making
him the 39th player in school his-
tory. He finished Saturday with six
boards. ... Sims reached his own
milestone early in the contest, hit-
ting the game's first basket to reach
1,400 career points, becoming just
the 23rd player in program history
to do so.
had to move ontand start again, and
win the rest of the game, and that's
what it came down to"
In the wildest game of Michi-
gan's season, it beat an archrival
and was one whistle away from
gaining at least four points against
the CCHA's second-ranked team.
And who was it but Chris Summers
to walk out of the locker room to
talk about the game. With a team
that has been supremely incon-
sistent, sweeping just two confer-
ence series keeping the momentum
going will be key for the Wolver-
ines.
"It starts in practice," Summers
said with a smile this time. "I'll say
it every time I talk to you guys. It
starts in practice."
before. A win in Friday's game
would've equalized the two
teams on the season.
Additionally, Spartan forward
Corey Tropp - whose cheap
shot on Michigan's Steve Kamp-
fer got him suspended for the
season last year - scored two of
the three game-winners against
Michigan this season, rubbing
salt in the already open wounds
of the Wolverines' underachiev-
ing season.
And with one whistle-less
play, Michigan could have put on
the hero's cape for one night of a
winter season filled with disap-
pointment inside and out of Yost
Ice Arena.
But Tropp's goal Friday was
still the game-winner. The
Spartans still lead Michigan in
the conference standings. And
for the first time since 2000-01,
Michigan State will finish the
season having won the intrastate
battle outright.
And because of Shegos' blown
call, this split, a decent result
in the long run, hurts twice as
much.
- Kartje can be reached
at rkartje@umich.edu.
M' offensive rebounds
* make difference in win
From Page 1B
about giving up offensive
rebounds. ... I don't know where
we are in the Big Ten, but we're
definitely a lot improved from
last year. It's just a mindset."
The Wolverines were the Big
Ten's second-worst rebound-
ing team last season in terms of
rebounding margin (-2.8). This
season, they're outrebounding
their Big Ten foes by almost a full
rebound each game. Michigan
still ranks last in the conference
in defensive rebounds, but it has
moved up to seventh in the Big
Ten in offensive boards, averag-
ing10.67 rebounds per game after
this weekend's performance.
Considering how badly the
Wolverines were outrebounded
during the first two months of
the season and how tough the
Big Ten traditionally is on the
boards, that's quite a statistic.
Along with an improved defense,
the increased rebounding could
be a good sign heading into the
final stretch of the regular sea-
son. 4
Saturday's game shed light on
many positive aspects of Sims's
game, in particular. He posted his
sixth double-double of the season
with 12 total rebounds and 20
points. Usually, 6-foot-5 sopho-
more Zack Novak is the Wolver-
ine known for leaping over taller
opponents to snatch rebounds
out of the air. But against the
Hawkeyes, Sims got in on the act,
too, pulling in rebounds from all
over the court.
"It goes to show the heart of
(Sims) and Zack," Douglass said.
"They're battling inside. They're
quote-unquote undersized, but it
doesn't really matter."
It may not matter much in the
upcoming games, either, as the
Wolverines prepare to take on
teams with taller, more physical
players. If Sims's performance
against a small Iowa squad is any
indication, he does well when
he's comfortable in a game.
When he has a preference?
"I like playing against bigger
guys," Sims said.
The big men of the Big Ten
might need totake note.
Late success isn't
enough for Michigan
By BRAD STONE in Michigan's comeback bid. Early
For the Daily in the meet, the Wolverines relied
mostly on escape points, allowing
Despite a late rally that led to the Spartans (6-3-1 overall) to take
four straight victories, the Michi- more shots and earn most of the
gan wrestling team fell to in-state takedown points.
rival Michigan State 17-15 on The momentum shifted after
Friday night in Ann Arbor. The a big win at 184 pounds by fresh-
defeat was the fifth straight for man Hunter Collins over Michi-
the Wolverines, who were coming gan State's Nick Palmieri. Collins
off tough losses to Big Ten power- knew how important his win was
houses Iowa and Minnesota. as Michigan went on to win the
The Spartans jumped out to final three matches, but did not
an early lead after a couple major want to take all the credit for the
decisions, including the opening ensuing rally.
match, which ended in a 9-1 vic- "I'm here to win matches," Col-
tory for defending NCAA cham- lins said. "And I'm always going to
pion at 133 pounds, top-ranked do as much for my team as I can.
Franklin Gomez. The Spartans If it started a little snowball, that's
went on to win five of the first six great. My goal is just to win every
matches with Michigan's lone win match regardless of what's going
in come-from-behind fashion by on around me."
sophomore David Johnson at 157 All three freshmen in Michi-
pounds. gan's lineup earned victories
Michigan coach Joe McFarland against the Spartans, showing
knew how vital Johnson's victory signs of a bright future for the
was if the Wolverines (0-3 Big Ten, Wolverines. The last of those
4-10 overall) had any chance of a wins came in the final match at
comeback in front of a large crowd 125 pounds by Sean Boyle, who
at Cliff Keen Arena. was able to put a tough weekend
"Dave won a big match for us," behind him to earn an important
McFarland said. "He found him- win.
self behind, but he did a great job "I'm still trying to prove myself,
in the third period, got a couple and we're still trying to get ready
turns. That was a great win. We for Big Tens and NCAA's," Boyle
just need to get him a little more said. "So I put those matches
aggressive on his feet." behind me, and I'm happy about a
Aggressiveness was a key factor good win today."
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